The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 181

181. Leading (4)

“Seriously, what’s with all this talk about feeling heavy? Even Jjoyou is getting hits.”

“Hey, hold on a second. What do you mean, ‘even’? That sounds a bit off, doesn’t it? I’m currently fourth in batting average among catchers with over 100 at-bats, you know?”

“Yeah, Choi Suwon. You know, you have this bad habit of looking down on Jjoyou. Fourth in batting average for catchers? That’s pretty damn good.”

“A .230 average… no, wait. I just got a hit, so is it .240 now?”

Lee Junghoon blinked twice at my words.

“Huh? Fourth in batting average for catchers is .240? Aren’t catchers doing really well these days? There’s Kim Seungjin from the Blazes, and Jinwoong, who went to the Phoenix, is hitting pretty well too. And what’s his name, that rookie on the Phoenix, I remember him hitting really well too?”

“Jinwoong hasn’t reached 100 at-bats yet. And fourth place is fourth place, but I’m .07 away from third, no, .06 now.”

“Hey!! Jjoyou, you little punk!! If you had any conscience, you wouldn’t call that fourth place.”

Jjoyou and Lee Junghoon bickered as they returned to the dugout.

“Hey, but wasn’t it really heavy?”

“I don’t know. It felt the same as usual to me.”

“One doesn’t know because he’s too much of a monster, and the other doesn’t know because he’s at .04. Ugh, someone as sensitive as me can’t handle this.”

“Hey, .04 is a bit harsh, *sunbae* [senior/mentor]. Of course, the truth is the truth, but I think defamation by stating facts is a serious crime.”

“What are you talking about, you idiot.”

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

And in the meantime, Kang Raon struck out again with a refreshing swing.

That slider is definitely tricky. Even the left-handed hitter Jjoyou’s bat was swinging empty because of the horizontal movement.

Our bottom of the third inning ended without any reward for waiting in the on-deck circle.

Diego’s cutter suppressed the Braves’ batting lineup.

-Clang!!!

Kang Raon, who had been showing a poor performance with two consecutive swinging strikeouts at the plate, was still excellent on defense. Of course, he wasn’t as relaxed as he used to be when he was flying around, but if he can show this much even when his condition is down, he might be able to show a good performance again soon after resting during the All-Star break in July.

Two outs, runner on first.

Braves’ second batter, Kang Hochang, came to the plate.

-BooOOOOOO

32 years old.

Center fielder.

The Marine fans gathered at Sajik Stadium gave him a generous boo as he transferred from the Marines to the Braves last winter. Kang Hochang didn’t look at them in this at-bat, just like in the previous at-bat.

The reason why the reaction to Choi Minhyuk was different from the reaction to Kang Hochang was very clear. A player who was traded by the team and a player who left the team on his own volition could not be the same.

Moreover, Kang Hochang wasn’t quite a franchise player, but he was a player with solid defense and hitting who had a decent fan base in the Marines.

“Sometimes, I think there are things more important than money in life. This choice of mine is one of those important things.”

This is a passage from an interview Kang Hochang gave when he moved teams as a free agent. Personally, I felt it was not a very good interview.

Didn’t Jo Yoojin say that earlier?

Defamation by stating facts is a serious crime.

Originally, when teasing someone, you shouldn’t tease them with their real weaknesses. Hitting with facts hurts that much.

The amount Kang Hochang was offered by the Marines last winter was 5 billion won for 4 years, including options. And the amount offered by the Braves was 4.5 billion won for 4 years, including options. A difference of 500 million won. Even the conditions for achieving the options were said to be easier on the Marines’ side, so it’s clear that he didn’t move teams because of money.

The problem was that it hit the Marines fans even harder.

In the end, they thought Kang Hochang was saying, ‘No matter how much money you give me, I don’t want to play for a last-place team, so I’m leaving. Goodbye, Collins,’ in a roundabout way.

-BooOOOOOOOO

That huge boo was the Marines fans’ response to him.

Kang Hochang waited for Diego Rodriguez’s pitch with a calm expression.

I’ve been at the plate while being booed before.

It was a little less mentally damaging because it was the rival team’s booing, but it was still quite nerve-wracking. Moreover, Kang Hochang is being booed by the fans who used to cheer for him at home until recently. There’s no way he wouldn’t be bothered by this.

Perhaps the inning will end smoothly like this and our attack will start at my at-bat, so I should tell Noh Hyungwook about what I thought of when he comes back.

-Clang!!

‘Huh?’

[Kang Hochang!! He pulled the slightly centered ball as it was!! A high fly ball!! It stretches out!! Will it go over!! Will it go over!! It’s gone!!! Kang Hochang!! Season’s first home run!! Top of the 4th. The score is tied again at 1:1. Braves’ Kang Hochang ties the game!!]

[He hit it properly as if he had been waiting calmly. Kang Hochang is a player with enough power to hit about 10 home runs a season, but he hasn’t had any home run news this season. He records his first home run right here at Sajik Stadium, where he played until last year!!]

Kang Hochang raised his right hand high and ran towards first base.

The reaction from the stands was, of course, very bad. *’Is that bastard really crazy? No, you have to fight with the opposing team’s players. Why are you fighting with the audience?’*

Diego frowned.

Wanting to plant a fastball in the heads of guys who celebrate after hitting a home run is an unavoidable instinct for a pitcher, so it must be difficult to suppress it.

Ah, but come to think of it, Diego was definitely extremely strong against the Marine hitters last year when he was with the Elite, so why is he getting hit with a home run by a former Marine hitter?

It’s like…

It feels like the law that our side, who used to be useless in novels, manga, and games, becomes a very strong enemy when they become an enemy, and the enemy who used to show a strong force becomes useless when they become our side is being implemented very faithfully. These days, games get a lot of flak if they use that kind of cliché, but reality is even more dogshit than games.

Diego Rodriguez cleanly turned the subsequent hitter into an infield ground ball, finishing the inning without any additional points.

The fielders who finished the defensive inning returned to the dugout.

“Alright, good work, everyone. Let’s fight and make a comeback again.”

Jjoyou, who returned to the dugout first, shouted loudly as he took off his catcher’s gear.

“Hyungwook *sunbae*?”

“Huh? Why? Do you have something to say?”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it. I think we’re having a hard time because Minhyuk *hyung’s* [older brother/close male friend] pitching form has changed.”

We are quite familiar with Choi Minhyuk’s pitches.

But after moving to the Braves, his pitching form changed slightly, and the extension became quite long, and the release point became subtly lower by that lengthened extension.

So, everyone unconsciously judges that the position where the ball starts is lowered by that lowered point, and therefore the ball will be laid down a little lower.

“But surprisingly, the ball floats a little higher. I wonder if there has been a change in the number of rotations. In the end, it deviates very subtly from the sweet spot, and as a result, don’t you think they feel the ball is heavy?”

“So you think so too.”

“Ah, then Hyungwook *sunbae* too?”

“No, it wasn’t my idea…”

Hyungwook *sunbae* glanced back.

There, Kyuman *sunbae* was seen putting down his mitt and sitting down for a while.

“What? Since when have you been talking about it?”

“After Kyuman *sunbae’s* at-bat in the bottom of the second.”

“But why didn’t you say anything to me? Is this the workplace bullying I’ve only heard about?”

“What bullying? I just thought I should tell you too, but Kyuman *sunbae* told me not to bother a kid who’s doing well by saying unnecessary things. He said that he’s afraid that his pace will be disrupted if he’s worried about finding out about that. He told us to find a solution among those who can’t do it.”

“Hey, why would my pace be disrupted? Not with something like this. Anyway, then I’ll go out and check it out. If my guess is correct, I’ll go out to first base and give a thumbs up, or I’ll just hit a home run and come back and tell you.”

He picked up his bat and walked to the plate.

I’ve felt this since before, but Kyuman *sunbae* has a subtle wall with everyone, even though he’s the captain, but apart from that, he seems to be subtly wary of me.

[Bottom of the 4th. Choi Suwon, who recorded a solo home run in the first at-bat in the bottom of the 1st, comes to the plate.]

[Braves’ dugout. They choose an automatic intentional walk.]

[It’s a wise choice. He has appeared in 51 games and hit 27 home runs before the first half is even over. His batting average is .445 and his OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging] is 1.869. He is truly the strongest hitter in KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] history.]

[Ha, it’s amazing that he has 27 home runs before the first half is even over, but it’s even more absurd that he still has a batting average in the mid-.400s with July just around the corner. Of course, there weren’t no .400 hitters in the KBO, but that was only in 1982, the first year of the KBO. It’s a story from a time when the level difference between players was serious and the number of games was only 80.]

Well, a clean automatic intentional walk that makes the words to check pale.

Choi Minhyuk shrugged his shoulders at me. But even with that sly attitude, he couldn’t hide the emotions dripping from his eyes.

That was fighting spirit.

Yeah, when he was in the Marines, he seemed to be going crazy, but I think the Braves are really good at raising prospects. Besides, even though the school bully should never be emulated in terms of personality, there are things to learn from his mindset as a starter.

[Now, the 4th batter, Noh Hyungwook, comes to the plate. He was out in the previous at-bat with a disappointing fly ball in front of the fence, right?]

[Yes, that’s right. Choi Minhyuk must have been nervous about a possible back-to-back home run. That’s because Noh Hyungwook is also a hitter who can never be ignored. He currently has 15 home runs. He is the sixth-most home run hitter in the league.]

Noh Hyungwook looked at me on first base once and looked at Choi Minhyuk on the mound.

Choi Minhyuk entered the set position towards him, who was in a calm batting stance.

One, two.

It was now.

[Oh? Choi Suwon on first base is running!!]

The extension got longer.

But the timing of the posture to prepare for pitching itself did not change significantly. Since last spring training, Choi Minhyuk, Baek Hamin, and I have been training together steadily. Therefore, it was not difficult to grasp the timing.

Choi Minhyuk faltered.

-Thud!!!

The ball went out of the zone.

The catcher, who hurriedly caught the ball, jumped up from his seat and tried to throw the ball to second base, but it was too late. Second base was already right in front of him.

“Safe!!”

A stolen base that perfectly took away the pitcher’s timing.

I got up from my seat and dusted off my butt.

[Bottom of the 4th, no outs!! Choi Suwon succeeds in stealing a base wonderfully. It’s his second stolen base of the season.]

[Wow, he hits well, throws well, and even runs well. What should I call Choi Suwon? Ah, yes. A baseball player. He is a baseball player himself.]

[Now, a runner on second base with no outs. The runner for the comeback is on the scoring position!! Noh Hyungwook is back at the plate.]

Bottom of the 4th

1:1

Runner on second with no outs.

The count is 1-0.

Choi Minhyuk prepared the second ball.